It has been a lot of planning and very stressful without a doubt. Not only that but my mother in-law passed and around this same time I found out that I had been suffering from Breast Implant Illness.

I'm going to tell my personal story but feel free to jump down to the section titled An Anti Inflammatory Diet. The story is a long one but has a very important message.

My Story

5 years ago I got breast implants because society brainwashed me throughout my childhood and preadolescent years. I believed that having larger breasts was necessary to be attractive. I was obsessed with having the perfect body image as most young girls do. All those rap/hip hop songs/music videos of the 90's and early 00's, the teen magazines (Teen, Seventeen), celebrities (wearing low cut to close to nothing, more and more of them getting implants) and all the girls I went to school with helped shape this belief.

When I got the implants they felt weird but since it gave me the look I was going for I dealt with it and was as happy as I could have been.

Fast forward to about 2 years ago (3 years with implants) I started developing health issues and they started to get worse as time went on.

The eczema that I had once in a while was an ongoing issue but it began to develop and wouldn't go away. I started to have brain fog and couldn't concentrate at work. I was so tired and exhausted in the mornings it was hard to get out of bed. I developed anxiety (which I never had before) and depression. Weird rashes started to appear on my neck that spread to my back and chest as well as my right armpit that wouldn't go away. Muscle and joint pain that I haven't had in a while (previous work injury). I noticed some red veins appeared in my eyes and my eyes were less clear. Food intolerances developed especially to gluten/wheat, alcohol and sugar. Ringing in the ears, lots of inflammation, more frequent infections, bruise easily and took longer to heal, the list goes on...

I thought this was my life now. I stopped eating gluten and that seemed to help temporarily but didn't make the symptoms go away.

I started taking mushroom supplements which helped my focus and concentration. Other than that all the other symptoms remained. I was stumped and life went on miserably.

About a month and a half ago I started to feel uncomfortable with the implants. My body was telling me they shouldn't be there. That something was wrong with them. I started to see them for what they truly are: large foreign objects inside my body. I yearned for the body I was born with.

I finally learned that the implants were causing me to be sick. That the implants are actually filled with heavy metals and toxic ingredients some of which are neurotoxins! I had been slowly poisoning my body over the course of 5 years. I couldn't believe this was happening. How could plastic surgeons tell me implants are safe?

I went through a roller coaster of emotions. I had no idea that the decision I made 5 years ago would come back to haunt me and turn out to be the worst decision of my life. I had to get these things out ASAP!

I'm so grateful I stumbled upon the website Breast Implant Illness which was started by Nicole. She also started a support group on Facebook called Healing Breast Implant Illness that now has some 46,000 + women all who are going through/have gone through the same thing. With their help I was able to find the amazing Dr. Mohebali in Marin, CA who believes in the illness and committed to getting me back to the way I was before implants!

10 days ago I got the implants removed (explanted) en bloc (capsulectomy). This means the implants were removed with the full capsule tissue that my body grew around the implants. Dr. had to scrape my ribs because the capsule tissue was adhered to my ribs. I was in excruciating pain after the surgery but thankful he was able to get it ALL out. My breasts now look deflated but I know with time they will bounce right back to the way they were. I couldn't be more happy with the body I was born with!

I will never look at myself the same. I now truly love my body for all that it is. There's no such thing as having any "faults" our bodies are precious and a temple.

Please if you have been considering getting implants or if you have implants check out Nicole's site:

It's not worth your health. Some didn't make it and have been lost to this illness. Breast implants aren't worth your life. You are beautiful no matter what your breast size is.

If you love yourself others will love you for who you are. If anyone tells you differently they don't truly love you unconditionally. I've learned the hard way but I am here now getting back to who I was and who I've always been (my true self).

Now what this article is actually about...

An Anti Inflammatory Diet

Until starting this diet a little over a month ago I didn't know that there are certain foods that cause a great deal of inflammation and foods that fight inflammation. I've put together a list after a ton of research of all the foods that cause or prevent inflammation.

For me I started cutting out all (or as much as possible) inflammatory foods and started eating an abundance of anti inflammatory foods.

This is and still is hard to do but if you need to be on an inflammatory diet you will immediately feel the difference (depending on your inflammation levels). Once you know the foods you can eat and the ones you should stay away from you'll start to develop some great go to recipes!